The Environmental A-Z…the letter G…

Welcome to my Environmental A-Z…still an A-Z but with a difference …

The idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…

The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter G.

The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.

The following are two words that we hear each and every day from the activists to the naysayers and Joe public…

Greenhouse Effect…The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat. This process makes Earth much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of the things that makes Earth a comfortable place to live.

Sounds ideal, doesn’t it?

Greenhouse Gases…Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. 

However…greenhouse gases have kept Earth’s climate habitable for humans and millions of other species. But those gases are now out of balance and threaten to change drastically which living things can survive on this planet…

There are 4 major greenhouse gases…Plus minor ones which not studied in great depth but I am guessing all have a part to play.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2): a primary greenhouse gas that is responsible for about three-quarters of emissions…it can however linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years and therein lies the problem…it is the burning of organic materials like coal, oil, gas, wood, and solid waste.

Methane (CH4): methane is the main component of natural gases…so if it’s a natural happening what is the problem..it is the excesses of the world that have exasperated the world’s problem.

Landfills, natural gas and the petroleum industries also let’s not forget the cows…all those grass-fed cows and their by-products meat and butter which we are being told are better for our health are not it seems better for the health of the atmosphere…

cow-grazing

But hang on here…I am on the side of the cows who have been around and been a source of milk and food for aeons…if you are also on the side of cows then YOU need to get your act together and by YOU…I mean everyone…Landfills and Waste are some of the biggest contributors to many of the world’s problems…

In the UK  alone…2.7 BILLION vegetables are thrown away every year…That is equivalent to 8 meals per person a week…Just saying…Think about it…Think about where it goes and the effect…as well as who it could feed and then tell me that is not down to YOU!

The solution starts and ends with YOU!

Nitrous Oxide (N2O):…6% doesn’t sound a lot…Does it?

But it is 264 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years, and its lifetime in the atmosphere exceeds a century, according to the IPCC…which is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…the United Nations body for assessing the science to Climate Change.

Agriculture and livestock, including fertilizer, manure, and the burning of agricultural residues, along with burning fuel, they are the biggest source of nitrous oxide emissions.

I am still on the side of the cows ALTHOUGH I do believe that is down to YOU as well…Yes, all roads lead to Rome as the saying goes…

Changes are needed…NOW…they are needed from farmers and manufacturers they are needed from YOU…We are in charge of our little patch of the world we live in ..we stock our pantries and fridges…we choose what we buy, what we eat, what we wear, what we use to cook on and heat our homes…we also choose who is in power we have a vote…we choose …

We can of course choose to be an Ostrich we can also choose to think that what we do has no consequences, no impact on the bigger picture…we are just one what does what we do matter?

It Matters!

Industrial Gases...I can hear you…YOU think I am now going to sound off big time …Fess Up…Nope, I am just going to name the gases and leave you a link…

 Fluorinated gases such as hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2 and stay in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. Accounting for about 2 per cent of all emissions, they’re used as refrigerants, solvents, and in manufacturing, sometimes occurring as byproducts.

I mean 2% not much is it?

Global Warming…Global warming refers to climate change that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere. Global warming can have many different causes, but it is most commonly associated with human interference, specifically the release of excessive amounts of greenhouse gases.

Although I understand some of the changes HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD and to an extent know what we can do to slow it down, however, I also know that the earth has gone through changes over the centuries so how much can we manipulate and stop what is happening and how much is just a fact of life ???

That’s all for today…I hope I have explained it in layman terms and made some things clearer as I believe we should all have a clearer picture in our minds as to what we can change and how… also what affects our health and how…

See you in two weeks for the letter H…next Wednesday it will be Part 6 of the new A-Z on food and terms with the middle letter being G as in Bagel…cinnamon and raisin…yes, please x

Thank you for reading it is a pleasure to see you here I hope you come again… Love Carol x

36 thoughts on “The Environmental A-Z…the letter G…”

  2. OIKOS™-Editorial

    Great infomation, Carol! At least every cow is a power plant, we only dont know how to use the methane for our own energy purposes. 😉 Have a beautiful week! It seems, the sun now would shine on us too. Lol Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Lovely to hear you have sunshine, Michael…Enjoy 🙂 Methane is and can be used as a clean energy lets hope this goes forward to make a difference 🙂 Have a great week , Michael 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

      1. OIKOS™-Editorial

        Thank you too, Carol! Actually, we only need a closed discharge of the gas in order to be able to use it productively. In any case, I don’t think, that the cows will love some kind of “catalytic converter” built on. Lol xx

        Liked by 1 person

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  7. petespringerauthor

    Excellent information as always, Carol. It seems like we’ve been discussing the greenhouse effect all the way back to when I began teaching—you know, back in the Dark Ages.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. johnrieber

    Food waste, Carol, you are spot on! We have to utilize what we grow and produce and stop acting like there’s more to go around than we need…waste ruins our environment as you note! Terrific and important!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, John those figures shocked me especially when I see adverts from agencies wanting donations to feed starving children when there is enough food to go round its just sheer waste on the part of the western world…Have a great week, John xx

      Liked by 1 person

  11. marianbeaman

    The definitions are helpful. Some of these words & phrases are being used often, and if one doesn’t know the meaning, they are just WORDS. The “greenhouse” effect was easy to understand now. Thanks, Carol!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      You are welcome, Marian and I agree we hear many of these phases so often they become almost commonplace …I am pleased you found it easy to understand 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  12. beetleypete

    That’s an excellent roundup, Carol. I think most people are now trying at least something to slow down global warming on an individual basis. But until the world’s biggest polluting nations get onside, it is unlikely to happen.
    The strange weather changes around Europe alone should ring enough alarm bells.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you very much , Pete…Big companies know how to talk the talk and that’s about it until something is profitable for them they are unlikely to change …Lets hope the bells ring loud enough xx

      Liked by 1 person

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